US Support for Israel Near All-Time High

A recent poll showed that US support of Israel is at a near all-time high; 67 percent of Americans held a favorable opinion of Israel.

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David Lev, 31/07/10 22:48 | updated: 22:42

USA - Israel

Israel News Archive; Flash 90

Speaking Saturday night, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said that he welcomed the support of the American public, as expressed in a Gallup poll released Friday. The poll showed that US support of Israel is at a near all-time high; 67 percent of Americans held a favorable opinion of Israel, more than for nearly any other country. Support for the PA was at 20 percent, among the lowest.

Sixty three percent favored Israel in the Middle East conflict, while only 15 percent favored the Palestinian Authority. According to the poll, the level of support in the United States for Israel was the highest since 1991's Gulf War, after dozens of Scud missiles fired by Iraq landed on Israeli cities.Israel desires peace, and at the same time struggles against terror and extremism, just like the US, and this is the basis for the strong ties between the two countries and two peoples.

Commenting on the poll, Netanyahu said that the support it showed for Israeli “reflects the goals shared by the American and Israeli peoples: the achievement of peace and security and a world consisting of free, liberal democracies. Israel desires peace, and at the same time struggles against terror and extremism, just like the US, and this is the basis for the strong ties between the two countries and two peoples.”

While most Americans support Israel, few believe that a resolution of the Middle East conflict is on the horizon. Sixty seven percent of those polled said that peace was not imminent, while 30 percent said they were hopeful it would come “at some point.”

The poll was conducted in February by the Gallup organization in the United States, part of the organization's annual World Affairs survey, which asks Americans' opinion on 20 countries or entities.